“Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths
“Girlfriend in a Coma” is an odd, or perhaps some would very blunt bereavement song. It seemingly centers on the vocalist’s girlfriend literally being in a coma, with the conclusion of this piece implying that she proceeds to die as a result.
But as for the chorus, besides acknowledging that the girl is in fact comatose, Morrissey also uses the opportunity to verify that he “know(s) it’s serious”. That makes it sound as if maybe he was inclined to take it as trivial beforehand, as under normal circumstances a person would not need to reassure that they understand the seriousness of someone being in a coma.
“Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know, it’s serious”
Then, as for the actual verses, he doesn’t utilize them to mourn but rather to allude to their being discontent in their relationship. In fact the end of the first verse implies that maybe when she had the accident or whatever it is that led to this hospitalization, the two of them were not on speaking terms.
So based on one’s perspective, calling this a song of bereavement may be a stretch. But conversely, concluding that the vocalist simply doesn’t care about the addressee also wouldn’t accurately encapsulate what’s going on here.
And just as a side note, Rolling Stone has put forth that “Girlfriend in a Coma” is actually about AIDS, which was a very hot topic during the 1980s, especially as far as the music/clubbing scene was concerned.
So it may be that Morrissey’s callous disposition is because this is all an analogy anyway, though that selfsame Rolling Stone article really doesn’t expound on how the lyrics are supposed to be related to said disease.
All in all
“Girlfriend in a Coma” is basically about a man whose girlfriend is in a coma. From the lyrics of the song, it is uncertain if this man is truly bothered about his girlfriend’s condition or not. It is also uncertain as to whether the man was responsible for her going into coma or not, considering the fact that he confesses that there were times when he hated her so much that he could have murdered her.
Facts about “Girlfriend in a Coma”
The Smiths’ singer and front man Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr wrote “Girlfriend in a Coma”.
The song was released on 10th August, 1987 and was produced by Johnny Marr, Morrissey and Stephen Street.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” reached the 13th position on the UK Singles Chart.
The artwork of the song has the image of the famous English dramatist called Shelagh Delaney who inspired Morrissey greatly.
The Canadian novelist and artist Douglas Coupland named his 1998 novel “Girlfriend in a Coma” after the song.
When the song came out, BBC Radio 1 decided not to play it, leading Morrissey to say that he understands why the song was not played because it is so depressing.
The music video of the song was directed by the late British film director Tim Broad. Broad was a very close friend of Morrissey and died at the age of 38 in 1993 from an illness brought on by HIV.
The song was used in an episode of the popular ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show titled Drew’s In a Coma.
Marr revealed that the song was influenced by the 1970 song Young, Gifted and Black by the popular Jamaican vocal duo Bob and Marcia.
The song was one of the four singles from The Smiths’ fourth and last studio album “Strangeways, Here We Come” which came out in 1987.
With a length of just 2 minutes and about 2 seconds, the song is one of The Smiths’ shortest songs ever released.
The song has been covered by numerous musical acts, making it one of the most covered Smiths’ songs.
Morrissey has performed this song multiple times throughout his solo career. For example, he famously performed it during at the Oya Festival in Oslo, Norway in 2006.
